Pitney Bowes DA300 User Manual

FCC Notice

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference.

2. This device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause

undesired operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class A digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accor­dance with the user manuals, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation
of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user
will be required to correct the interference at this own expense. Shielded cables must be used with
this unit to insure compliance with Class A limits.

Safety EN60950 (IEC950)

This device passes conformity testing to standards for safety of electrical equipment (IECEE) CB
scheme.

Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing
Equipment Regulations.
Let appareil numerique de la classe A respecte toutes les exigences du Reglement sur le materiel
brouilleur du Canada.

PB Form SV61036 First edition, May, 2003. ©2003 Pitney Bowes Inc. All rights reserved. This
book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part in any fashion, or stored in a retrieval system of
any type, or transmitted by any means, electronically or mechanically, without the express written
consent of Pitney Bowes, Inc.

These materials and the related software are the confidential and proprietary property of Pitney
Bowes Inc., and may not be lent, sold, hired out, or made available to others in any form, or be
disposed of by way of trade in any form without the express written consent of Pitney Bowes, Inc.
We have made every reasonable effort to insure the accuracy and usefulness of this manual,
however we cannot assume responsibility for errors or omissions or liability for the misuse or
misapplication of our products.

AddressRight, SmartMailer, and Envelope Designer Plus are registered trademarks and PB Supply
Line is a service mark of Pitney Bowes Inc. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1- DA300 Overview

Welcome to the DA300 ................................................. 1-2

Using This Guide ........................................................... 1-2

System Requirements................................................... 1-3

Getting Help................................................................... 1-4

Online Help............................................................... 1-4

Phone Support ........................................................ 1-4

Before You Call ........................................................ 1-4

The World Wide Web ............................................... 1-4

Printer Options .............................................................. 1-5

Ordering Supplies .......................................................... 1-5

Chapter 2 - Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Unpacking the Printer.................................................... 2-2

Package Contents................................................... 2-3

Setting Up the DA300 ...................................................2-4

Choosing a Location for Your Printer ...........................2-5

Important Safety Notes ................................................ 2-5

Assembling the DA300.................................................. 2-6

1. Attaching the Material Prop ................................ 2-7

2. Attach the Wireframe to the Printer .................... 2-8

3. Install the Sliding Fence ...................................... 2-9

4. Position the Output Stacker Tray ....................... 2-10

5. Connect the Printer Cable ................................... 2-11

6. Connect the Power Cord ....................................2-12

7. Turn On Power .....................................................2-12

8. Install the Ink Jet Cartridge ................................. 2-13

Removing the Ink Jet Cartridge .................................... 2-14

DA300 Printer Operator Guide

i

Table of Contents

Chapter 3 - DA300 Basics

Printer Features ............................................................. 3-2

Setting Up a Job ........................................................... 3-4

Chapter 4 - Using DA300 With Your Computer

Installing the Printer Software .......................................4-2

Installing the Printer Driver/Ed Plus .............................. 4-2

Selecting Printer Properties .......................................... 4-7

Using the Printer Properties Windows ......................... 4-8

Selecting the DA300 from a Windows Application..... 4-17

Envelope Designer

1. Set the Separator Gap ........................................3-6

2. Center the Wireframe under the Material ............ 3-8

3. Set the Feed Angle .............................................. 3-9

4. Position the Feed Fence .....................................3-10

5. Load Material ....................................................... 3-11

6. Adjust the Position of the Material Prop ............. 3-12

7. Adjust the Media Thickness Lever ...................... 3-13

8. Adjust the Exit Rollers .........................................3-14

9. Print a Test Piece ................................................. 3-15

TM

Plus ............................................. 4-18

Chapter 5 - Printer Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance ................................................ 5-2

Cleaning ......................................................................... 5-2

Print Quality Problems .................................................. 5-2

Exit Rollers ..................................................................... 5-3

Sensor ........................................................................... 5-3

Floor Assembly and Top Cover .................................... 5-3

Chapter 6 - Troubleshooting

Problems and Solutions................................................ 6-2

Feed Problems ........................................................ 6-2

Print Quality Problems ............................................6-3

Interface Problems ..................................................6-4

Motor Problems ...................................................... 6-5

Barcode Problems .................................................. 6-5

Other Problems ....................................................... 6-6

ii

DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Table of Contents

Appendix A - Control Panel Menus

Using the Control Panel ................................................ A-2

Using the Menus ........................................................... A-3

Using the Main Menu .................................................... A-5

Main Menu Diagram ......................................................A-6

1. Address Layout ................................................... A-7

2. Print Quality ......................................................... A-10

3. Font Selection ..................................................... A-11

4. Barcode ...............................................................A-12

5. Address Recovery............................................... A-14

6. Clear Counter ...................................................... A-15

7. Job Settings ........................................................ A-16

Using the Setup Menu................................................... A-17

Setup Menu Diagram .................................................... A-18

1. Heavy Media Mode ............................................. A-19

2. Test Print Head .................................................... A-19

3. Purge Print Head ................................................. A-20

4. Lines Per Address ............................................... A-21

5. Communications ................................................. A-21

6. Hex Dump Mode ................................................. A-23

7. Language ............................................................. A-26

8. Envelope Feed Delay .......................................... A-28

9. Auto Envelope Eject ............................................ A-28

10. ROM Revision Number ...................................... A-29

Appendix B - DA300 Specifications

Equipment Specifications ............................................. B-2

Material Specifications .................................................. B-8

Index

Index to the Contents of this Manual ........................... i-1

DA300 Printer Operator Guide

iii

Chapter

1

The DA300
Printer Overview

The Pitney Bowes DA300 is a
versatile, easy-to-use desktop
printer designed for addressing
applications.

This chapter explains what's in
this guide, and tells you how to
order supplies and where to get
more information about using
your DA300.

In this chapter:

Welcome to the DA300 ........... 1-2

Using This Guide..................... 1-2

System Requirements ............ 1-3

Getting Help ............................ 1-4

Printer Options ........................ 1-5

Ordering Supplies ................... 1-5

1 • DA300 Printer - Overview

Welcome to
the DA300

Using This
Guide

The Pitney Bowes DA300 ink jet printer is a desktop
printer used to print address and other information on a
wide range of material of various sizes, construction and
composition. With the DA300 you can define the font,
placement, print quality and bar code characteristics for
your addresses.

This Operator Guide shows you how to:

• Set up the DA300 printer

• Connect it to your computer

• Define your envelope layout

• Print a test mail piece

• Send a mail job to the printer from your com-

puter application.

Refer to this guide for information about printer setup,
operation and troubleshooting. It is divided into the fol­lowing chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction

Contains an overview of the DA300 Operator Guide,
information about ordering supplies and a list of help
resources.

Chapter 2, Setting Up the DA300

Contains instructions for assembling your printer.

Chapter 3, DA300 Basics

Explains how to set up your printer to run a job.

Chapter 4, Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Contains instructions for installing the printer driver,
selecting the printer from your software program and
sending a mail job from your computer.

Chapter 5, Printer Maintenance

Describes how to keep the printer clean and functioning
properly.

Chapter 6, Troubleshooting

Contains a list of possible problems and their solutions.

1-2 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

DA300 Printer - Overview • 1

(

)

Appendix A, Control Panel Menus

Explains the Main Menu and Setup Menu options avail­able on the DA300 control panel.

Appendix B, Specifications

Provides hardware and material specifications. Your
printer will run at its best when your material conforms to
our specifications.

System
Requirements

In order to operate the DA300 with your computer, your
system must meet the following requirements:

CPU Pentium III or equivalent

64 MB RAM or greater

Operating System* Windows 98 (2nd Edition),

Windows ME, Windows2000,
WindowsXP

Printer Cable A parallel cable is supplied with your

printer. You may also choose to use
a serial cable. In either case, make
sure the cable is no longer than 10
feet.

*NOTE: Subject to change. Below is a table of the Microsoft operating
systems currently supported and the dates Pitney Bowes expects to
stop providing support for the drivers that run in those systems.

Last Date Pitney Bowes will support

Microsoft’s
Microsoft Windows
Operating System

95 December 31, 2001 April 30, 2003 Windows 2000 Pro or XP Pro

98 and 98
Millennium (Me) December 31, 2004 July 31, 2004 Windows 2000 Pro or XP Pro
NT 4.0 June 30, 2003 July 31, 2004 Windows 2000 Pro or XP Pro
XP Home
2000 Professional March 31, 2007 March 31, 2007 To be determined
XP Professional

* Source: Microsoft.com (posted 1/15/03)
** Dates subject to change, including any change due to Microsoft’s support cessation dates or if USPS changes requirements. Should dates
change, they will be posted on our web site at www.pb.com/support

2nd ed.

"Not Supported"

Date*

January 16, 2004 July 31, 2004 Windows 2000 Pro or XP Pro

December 31, 2006 December 31, 2006

December 31, 2008 December 31, 2008

drivers installed with Microsoft
Windows Operating System in
conjunction with AddressRight and
DocuMatch**

.

Recommended
Replacement

To be determined

To be determined

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 1-3

1 • DA300 Printer - Overview

Getting Help

As you use your printer, there may be times when you
need help to solve a specific application problem, or you
may want additional information about printer operation.
Pitney Bowes provides several information resources.

Online Help

The DA300 Print Driver has a help system built into it. To
get to the driver, click on Properties from Windows print
dialog box. Then click on the Help button.

If you're using Pitney Bowes programs such as Envelope
Designer™ Plus or SmartMailer™, press the F1 key while
you're using the program to display information about the
open screen. Select the Help menu to display a list of
topics or search for a term. Refer to the documentation
supplied with these programs for more information.

The World Wide Web

We encourage you to visit our web site at:

http://www.pb.com/support

You'll find the latest information about our products and
services as well as answers to frequently asked technical
questions.

Phone Support

If you need technical support, call Pitney Bowes Techni­cal Support at:

[phone]

Before You Call...

Please see Chapter 6, Troubleshooting, for a description
of common problems and their solutions. If you need to
call, please have the following information at hand:

• Product model: W655

• Serial number: See back of unit.

• Nature of problem: What happens and when does
it happen?

• The steps you've already taken to solve the

problem and the results.

1-4 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

DA300 Printer - Overview • 1

Printer
Options

Ordering
Supplies

Pitney Bowes offers several very useful options for your
DA300:

• Envelope Designer™ Plus lets you create a profes­sional looking envelope in a matter of seconds—
you don't have to bother with the print driver or
make manual settings.

• The W853 Ink Dryer helps to eliminate smudging
on difficult materials like glossy stock.

• The W760 Power Stacker holds up to 300 #10
envelopes. It helps maintain a neat stack in ZIP
Code order when you run long jobs.

The World Wide Web

We encourage you to visit our web site at:

http://www.pb.com/supplies

You'll have the ability to order all your DA300 printer
supplies and options to enhance your printing needs.

By Phone

You can order supplies for your DA300 printer directly

SM

through the Pitney Bowes Supply Line
order, call:

. To place an

[phone]

The following supplies are available for your DA300
printer:

• Ink Cartridge (order number 771-4)

• Cleaning Kit (order number 902-0)

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 1-5

1 • DA300 Printer - Overview

1-6 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Chapter

2

Setting Up the
DA300 Printer

This chapter explains how to
unpack, assemble and connect
your new printer.

In this chapter:

Unpacking the Printer ............. 2-2

Package Contents................... 2-3

Setting Up the DA300 ............. 2-4

Choosing a Location ............... 2-5

Important Safety Notes ........... 2-5

Assembling the DA300 ........... 2-6

Attach the Material Prop ...... 2-7

Attach the Wire Frame ......... 2-8

Install the Sliding Fence ....... 2-9

Position the Output Stacker 2-10

Connect the Printer Cable . 2-11

Connect the Power Cord.... 2-12

Turn on Power..................... 2-12

Install Ink Jet Cartridge ...... 2-13

Removing Ink Jet Cartridge .. 2-14

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Unpacking the
Printer

As you remove the DA300 contents from the box, check
the parts against the list on the opposite page.

1

2

3

54

6

7

2-2 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Package
Contents

Package Contents

1. DA300 Printer

2. Output Stacker

3. Wire Frame (Input Material Stacker)

4. Material Prop with Washer and Retaining Knob

5. Sliding Fence (long)

6. Power Cord

7. Parallel Cable

Not Shown:

• Sliding Fence (short)

• Printer Operating Guide

• Printer Driver Software

• Ink Jet Cartridge

• Quick Setup Instructions

• Operator Training Guide

• PostNetTM Certificate

• Installation Quality Report

• Operator Safety Tip Card

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-3

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Setting Up
the DA300

The assembled printer should look like the picture below.
The parts you have to put together are identified.

Wireframe Input
Stacker

Material Prop
and Lock Knob

Sliding Feed
Fence

Output Stacker
(Not Shown)

Refer to this picture as you set up your printer. Follow the
steps on pages 2-7 through 2-14.

2-4 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Choosing a
Location for
Your Printer

Important
Safety Notes

Follow these guidelines and safety precautions when
selecting a location for your printer.

• Place the printer on a table or other stable, level
surface within the parallel cable's length (10 feet
maximum) of your computer.

• Allow for adequate space. The DA300 is 14.7 inches
high, 16.2 inches wide and 21.7 inches deep, without
the wire frame input stacker.

• Allow for adequate ventilation around the base and
rear of the printer.

• Protect the printer from heat, dust and moisture.
Avoid placing the printer in direct sunlight.

• To protect against electric shock, plug the machine
into a properly grounded wall outlet. DO NOT use an
adapter plug. Use of an adapter could compromise
the ground and cause a possible shock hazard or
damage to the equipment in the event of a short
circuit.

• DO NOT remove the ground pin from the line cord.

• Avoid using outlets controlled by wall switches.
Someone could accidently shut your printer off.

• The power cord wall plug is the primary means of
disconnecting the machine from the AC power. The
wall outlet should be near the machine and easily
accessible.

• DO NOT route the power cord over sharp edges or
trap it between pieces of furniture.

• Insure that there is no strain on the power cord
where it passes between the equipment, walls or
furniture.

• Be certain the area in front of the wall receptacle into
which the machine is plugged is free from obstruc­tion

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-5

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Important
Safety Notes
(continued)

Assembling
the DA300

• Do not remove covers. The machine covers serve
to enclose hazardous parts. If the machine has been
dropped or has otherwise had the covers stressed
in any way, report it to your Pitney Bowes Customer
Service Representative.

• To reduce the risk of fire and/or electrical shock, do
not attempt to disassemble this machine. If service
is required, contact your Pitney Bowes Customer
Service Representative.

• Keep fingers, loose clothing, jewelry and long hair
away from the moving parts.

• Use only Pitney Bowes approved supplied ink
cartridges and cleaners. Read all instructions before
attempting to operate the equipment.

In addition, follow any specific occupational safety and
health standards for your workplace or area.

Once you've placed the printer in a suitable location,
assemble the printer components in the following order:

NOTE: Do not plug the printer into the power source until
you've completed steps 1-5.

1. Attach the material prop to the wireframe (page 2-7).

2. Install the wireframe input stacker (page 2-8).

3. Install the sliding fence (page 2-9).

4. Position the output stacker (page 2-10).

5. Connect the parallel cable (page 2-11).

6. Attach the power cord and turn the printer ON (page
2-12).

7. Install the ink jet cartridge (pages 2-13, 2-14).

2-6 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Assembling
the DA300
(continued)

1. Attach the Material Prop

1. The material prop has three grooves on its back
side Place it on the wire frame so the grooves
engage the bars of the frame and the hole for the
lock knob is facing up.

2. Place the small washer on the lock knob.

3. Push the threaded portion of the lock knob through
the hole in the material prop.

4. Position the plastic clamp and nut plate on the
other side of the material prop and turn the lock
knob clockwise until the prop is secure.

The position of the material prop will change, de­pending on the material you run. You'll find out how
to adjust it in the next chapter.

Wireframe Input
Stacker

Lock Knob

Clamp

Nut Plate

Material Prop

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-7

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Assembling
the DA300
(continued)

2. Attach the Wire Frame to the Printer.

1. Hook the bottom
edge of the wire
frame under the tabs
in the frame slide.

2. Rotate the wire frame
and insert the curved
metal bar on the
bottom of the frame
into the height ad­justment slot. See
the photo on the
next page.

3. Adjust the height of the wireframe so it's positioned
at about a 45 degree angle. Turn the lock knob on
the side of the slide clockwise to hold the wireframe
in position.

You can adjust both the height and side-to-side
position of the wireframe to accommodate the size
and type of the material you're running. We talk
about this in the next chapter.

Height Adjust­ment Slot

Tabs

Lock Lever

Lock Knob

2-8 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Assembling
the DA300
(continued)

3. Install the Sliding Fence

The DA300 has two fences—a long one and a short one.
Use the short fence when printing material smaller than a
#10 envelope. Use the long fence for larger material.
Slide the square edge of the sliding fence into the slots on
the frame slide as shown below. The next chapter explains
how to set the fence to the width of the material you're
running.

Feed Fence
in Position

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-9

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Assembling
the DA300
(continued)

4. Position the Output Stacker Tray

Printed material is deposited in the output stacker tray.
The tray can stack up to 150 #10 envelopes. Slide it into
position under the back of the printer as shown below.

Stacker
Tray

2-10 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Connecting
the DA300
to Your
Computer

5. Connect the Printer Cable

Use either the a parallel cable supplied or a serial cable of
your own to connect the DA300 to your computer.

1. Parallel Cable - Align the end of the cable connector
labelled “Printer” with the parallel port on the
printer's interface panel and push the cable connec­tor into the port.

Serial Cable - Align one end of the cable connector
to the serial port on the printer's interface panel and
push the cable connector into the port.

Parallel PortSerial Port

2. Parallel Cable - Secure the connector by snapping
the two wire clips over the corresponding tabs on
the connector.

Serial Cable - Secure the connector by screwing in
the small nuts on either side of the connector.

3. Parallel Cable - Align the other end of the cable
connector labelled “Computer” with the printer port
on your computer and push the cable connector
into the port.

Serial Cable - Align the other end of the cable to the
serial connector on your computer and secure it by
screwing in the small nuts on either side of the
connector.

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-11

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Plugging the
DA300 In

Turning the
DA300 On

6. Connect the Power Cord

1. Connect the power cord to the printer at the inter­face panel, shown below.

Power
Switch

2. Plug the power cord into a grounded outlet. Please
review the safety information on pages 9 and 10.

7. Turn On Power

Once you've connected the cable, press the printer’s
power switch to the “|” (ON) position. The switch is lo­cated next to the power cord receptacle.

Power
Receptacle

When you turn the printer on:

• The LCD menu displays that the printer is initializing
and automatically displays "ON LINE".

• The print head carriage moves to the right and
parks in the maintenance station.

2-12 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Setting Up the DA300 Printer • 2

Installing and
Removing the
Ink Jet
Cartridge

8. Install the Ink Jet Cartridge

The printer uses an Ink Jet Cartridge for printing. You
must install the cartridge before you can print. To begin:

1. With the printer on, press the On Line key until the
display reads OFF LINE.

2. Open the back cover of the printer.

3. Press the + key on the control panel to move the
carriage to the middle of the printer.

4. Remove the cartridge from its shipping container by
peeling the top cover off. Be careful not to touch the
copper ribbon.

WARNING! The ink in the cartridge may be
harmful if swallowed. Keep new and used
cartridges out of reach of children. Discard
empty cartridges immediately.

5. Gently remove the tape covering the ink nozzles on
the print cartridge, being careful not to touch the
copper nozzles.

6. Gently insert the cartridge into the carriage at ap­proximately a 45 degree angle with the green arrow
on the cartridge top pointing toward the inside of
the printer.

Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide 2-13

2 • Setting Up the DA300 Printer

Installing and
Removing the
Ink Jet
Cartridge

7. Push the cartridge back in the direction of the arrow
until it snaps into place.

Removing the Ink Jet Cartridge

When you need to remove or replace the ink jet cartridge,
follow these steps:

1. With the printer on, press the On Line key until the
display reads OFF LINE.

2. Open the back cover of the printer.

3. Press the Cartridge key on the control panel.
This moves the carriage to the middle of the printer.

4. To remove the ink jet cartridge, hold the green
cartridge top while placing your thumb on the car­tridge cradle.

5. Pull the cartridge top toward you until the cartridge
pops loose, then lift the print cartridge out of the
cradle.

2-14 Pitney Bowes DA300 Operator Guide

Chapter

3

DA300 Basics

In this chapter you'll learn about
key features of the DA300 printer
and how to adjust it to meet the
requirements of your print jobs.

In this chapter:

Printer Features ...................... 3-2

Setting Up a Job ..................... 3-4

Set the Separator Gap.......... 3-6

Center the Wireform ............. 3-8

Set the Feed Angle ............... 3-9

Position the Feed Fence ..... 3-10

Load Materials.................... 3-11

Adjust Material Prop .......... 3-12

Adjust for Media Thickness 3-13

Adjust Exit Rollers .............. 3-14

Print a Test Piece................. 3-15

3 • DA300 Basics

Printer
Features

The DA300 has the following features:
Speed (pieces per hour): 4,200 # 10 envelopes (based on
3 line address, 10pt, 18 characters per address line)
Print Qualities: Draft, Letter, Executive
Internal Fonts: 5
Font Point Size: 4pt - 30pt
Material Thickness: 0.003" to 1/16"

Speed

Printer speed refers to the number of pieces of mail that
can be processed in an hour. The DA300 can process
4200 # 10 envelopes per hour, depending on the address
content and configuration. Printer speed depends on the
number of characters per line, the number of lines, char­acter size, font, interface, barcode, material size and
graphics.

Print Qualities

The printer has three selectable print qualities: Draft
(fastest speed), Letter (medium speed) and Executive
(slowest speed).

Internal Fonts

A font is a set of characters (letters, numbers and sym­bols) that use the same typeface. The DA300 has five
internal typefaces: Courier, Sans Serif, Roman, OCR-A,
and OCR-B. You can select these fonts from the printer
control panel menus. If you set up a print job from your
computer, however, you can use any font that is available
from your software application.

Font Size

Font size refers to the size of each typeface. The DA300
uses a 12 point size for each internal font. When you are
using downloaded fonts, you can select other sizes.

3-2 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Printer
Features
(continued)

Material Thickness

Thickness refers to the size of the material that is pro­cessed through the printer. The DA300 can handle mate­rial from .003" up to 1/16" thick.

Media Size

The DA300 can print on the following range of material sizes

Width Height Thickness

Minimum 5 " 3.5" .003"

(127 mm) (89 mm) (.0762 mm)

Maximum 12.75" 13.5" .062"

(324 mm) (343 mm) (1.57 mm)

For envelope addressing purposes, the DA300 is com­patible with any word processor or database application
that can print a mailing label.

Approved Media Types

The printer can be used with the following types of material:

• Envelopes • Postcards

• Booklets • Self Mailers

• Catalog envelopes • Paper

All envelopes must be without windows, empty and
unsealed. Any folded material needs to be tabbed on the
leading edge. Refer to Appendix B, Specifications, for
more information, including specific requirements for
using each type of material.

Other printer features include:

• Ink Jet technology with single shuttling head.

• Interface to a standard IBM® compatible computer.

• Prints USPS POSTNET

• LCD menu display available in six languages.

• Memory capable of storing up to eight jobs.

• Printing virtually anywhere on an envelope.

• Graphic printing capability.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-3

TM

certified bar code.

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job

Setting up a print job means adjusting the printer to
accommodate the width, height, thickness and weight of
your material.

There are two things that determine how reliably your
printer feeds: the setup adjustments and the quality of
your material. A good setup minimizes misfeeds and
jams. Also, your printer will perform at its best when you run
material that falls within our published specifications. Please
see Appendix B for complete material specifications.

The figure below calls out key machine features and
briefly summarizes each adjustment. In the pages that
follow, we explain each adjustment in detail.

1234

5

13 12

11

10

6

7

8

9

1. H-Block Separators

Adjust to the thickness of your material. The gap be­tween the H-Block separator fingers and the feed rollers
should be just enough to allow a single piece to feed
through the printer.

2. Input Area

Where you stack material for printing. You'll make most
setup adjustments in this general area.

3-4 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

3. Interface Panel (Not Shown)

Located on the lower part of the rear cover, the panel
has the ON/OFF switch, parallel cable connector and
power cord receptacle.

4. Wire Frame

Supports the material stack. Adjust the feed angle to
accommodate the weight of the material you're
running. Adjust its side-to-side position so it's
centered under the stack.

5. Material Prop and Lock Knob

The prop adds a gentle slope to the stack to help
feeding. Adjust so the top of the prop is even with the
top of the stack. Secure the prop with the lock knob.

6. Wireframe Slide

Slides the wireframe side to side. Lock in position
with the lock lever (Item7).

7. Wireframe Slide Lock Lever (Not Shown)

Locks the wireframe slide in position.

8. Feed Fence

Helps confine the stack. Adjust to the width of your
material plus 1/16" clearance.

9. Control Panel

Use the control panel buttons to access printer
menus, define print options, run the print job, posi­tion the print carriage and turn the printer on and off
line. See Appendix A, Printer Menus, for detailed
instructions. Selections can be viewed on the 20­character, dual line LCD display. If you have the DA300
print driver loaded on your computer, you can easily
perform these functions from within your application.

10. Stacker Tray

Printed material is deposited in the stacker (catch)
tray. The tray holds about 5" of material.

11. Output Area

Where printed material is stacked.

12. Exit Rollers (Not Shown)

Guides the printed material as it exits the printer. Adjust so
that each roller overlaps the edge of the material by 1/4".

13. Top Cover

Open to gain access to print cartridge and exit rollers.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-5

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

1. Set the Separator Gap

Whenever you switch from one material type to another,
you need to set the gap between the separators and the
feed roller before printing begins.

To find the correct spacing, see the figure on the next
page and follow the instructions below.

Setting the Proper Feed Gap

1. Loosen the lock knobs to unlock all three H-Blocks.

2. Lift the H-Blocks to their highest position and lock in
place.

3. Place a sample piece of material between the separa­tor fingers (the lower section of the H-Blocks) and the
feed roller.

4. Lower only the “H” Blocks that come in direct contact
with the material and let them touch the material.

5. Lock each separator in place. When lowering the H­Blocks, check that the material is between the sepa­rator tabs and the feed roller.

NOTE: If the separator gap is not set properly, the
printer will misfeed. If the gap is to big, the printer will
feed doubles (two or more pieces at the same time). If
the gap is too small, material will jam at the feed roller
entrance. If you're running post cards and have
feeding problems, set a smaller gap between the H­Block separators and feed rollers.

3-6 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

1. Set the Separator Gap (continued)

H-Block Separator

Lock Knob

Rear Wall

Place a
sample piece
against the
rear wall and
between the
separator
fingers and the
feed roller

Setup Example Using #10 Envelopes:

When you set the feed gap for a #10 envelope, the width
of the envelope will fall completely under the inside and
middle H-Blocks, but only half way under the outer H­Block.

In this case, place a second envelope next to the first,
under the outer H-Block. Place the second envelope flap
down with the short edge under the outer H-Block.
(Before you do this, remove the sliding fence in order to
fit the second envelope under the outer H-Block). Lock
the separator in place.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-7

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

2. Center the Wireform under the Material

1. Place a sample piece of material in the feed area, up
against the rear wall.

2. Push down on the wireframe lock lever to free the
wireframe slide.

3. Center the wireframe under your sample piece of
material.

4. Pull up on the lock lever to secure the wireframe in
position.

Slide

Lock Lever

3-8 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

3. Set the Feed Angle

The feed angle of the wireframe input stacker depends on
the type of material you're running:

• Heavy material—adjust to a low angle

• Standard material—adjust to the center (45 degree
angle)

• Light material—adjust to a high angle

To make the adjustment:

1. Loosen the lock knob on the wireframe slide.

2. Move the wireframe up or down as required.

3. Tighten the lock knob to secure the wireframe.

Wire Frame

Lock Knob

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-9

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

4. Position the Feed Fence

Your printer comes with two feed fences—a tall one and a
short one. Use the tall fence for #10 envelopes and larger
materials. Use the short fence for materials smaller than a
#10 envelope.

To position the fence:

1. Place a sample piece or trial stack of material in the
input area.

2. Slide the fence until it almost touches the stack of
material.

3. Check that there's about 1/16" clearance (the thick­ness of a dime) between the fence and the stack.

NOTE: Proper clearance is important. If you push the
fence tight up against the stack, it could retard feeding
and cause jams. If the clearance is too great, pieces
could skew as they feed into the printer.

Feed Fence

3-10 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

5. Load Material

Once your printer is set up, you can load material and
make a test print.

To avoid misfeeds, follow these instructions
l. Make sure the input area is free of dust and other

matter.

2. Take a manageable amount of material and while
holding it as shown, fan all sides of the material to
separate each piece. This step helps keep misfeeds
to a minimum.

3. Tamp the material on a flat surface, making sure that
the stack is square.

4. Shingle the stack as you load it into the input area.
Load envelopes so the side to be printed faces up.
Flaps should be down and oriented away from the
feed roller (flaps trailing). Begin with just a few enve­lopes to start the stack and get the proper contour,
then add several more pieces. Then add the remain­der of the stack.

5. Adjust the position of the material prop as described
on the next page.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-11

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

6. Adjust the Position of the Material Prop

With a stack of material loaded:

1. Loosen the lock knob that holds the prop in position.

2. Lower the prop until its top is even with the top of the
stack or the top of the stack reaches the middle of
the prop.

3. Tighten the material prop's lock knob to hold it in
position.

Material Prop

At this point, it's a good idea to recheck your setup
adjustments:

• Is the separator gap adjustment correct?

• Is the wireframe centered under the material?

• Is the feed angle okay?

• Is there a slight clearance between the feed fence and
the edge of the stack?

3-12 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

7. Adjust the Media Thickness Lever

The media thickness lever sets the distance between the
printhead and the material. Use it to compensate for
different material thicknesses. The lever is located inside
the printer under the top cover, as shown below.

Media Thickness
Lever

Print a test piece (page 3-15) with the lever in the middle
position. If the address appears indistinct or blurred,
raise the lever; if the address is too light, lower the lever

A Note about Print Quality

The DA300 is designed to feed and print on a range of
materials with various finishes and coatings. However the
sharpness of the print may vary with different materials,
depending on how absorbent the surface is, as well as
other qualities.

You'll get best results using white wove bonded stock.
Printing is less sharp on Tyvek, recycled and glossy
material. It is also possible that ink may not dry thor­oughly on certain very glossy materials. Always test high
gloss materials for their drying qualities before you buy
them in quantity and attempt to run a print job. Readabil­ity is important for appearance and to meet USPS print­ing standards to achieve postal discounts.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-13

3 • DA300 Basics

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

8. Adjust the Exit Rollers

Adjust the exit rollers so they overlap the left and right
edges of the material by 1/4". Slide the rollers from side
to side to make the adjustment.

Exit Rollers

IMPORTANT: Make sure the rollers do not touch any
printed area of the material. If this happens, the rollers will
act like a printing press and imprint a faint impression at
incremental distances on the material. If this happens,
move the roller or rollers toward the nearest clear zone,
that is, an area free of printing.

Output Stack Height

The output stacker holds up to five inches of material
before it becomes necessary to remove the stack from
the bin. The optional W760 stacker increases capacity to
300 #10 envelopes.

NOTE: As the stack approaches the 5" limit, there is a
potential for stacking misfeed (pieces not neatly stacked
one on top of the other). This can cause envelopes to
stack out of ZIP Code sequence.

3-14 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

DA300 Basics • 3

Setting Up A
Job
(continued)

9. Print a Test Piece

1. Make sure material is loaded properly. (Or you can
use a single test piece if you'd like to check that your
setup adjustments are okay.)

2. Turn the printer ON. The On/Off switch is located on
the interface panel at the rear of the machine.

3. Press the On Line
button on the
printer control
panel until the LCD
display reads OFF
LINE.

4. Press the Test Env. button. A single envelope will feed
and a sample address should print.

5. Check the print quality. If it's not what you want,
adjust the media thickness lever (page 3-13) as
required and run another test piece.

When you're satisfied with your setup adjustments,
you're ready to run the job. The next chapter explains
how to use the printer with your computer.

On Line

Display

Test Env.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 3-15

3 • DA300 Basics

3-16 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Chapter

4

Using the DA300
With Your
Computer

This chapter has instructions for
installing and using the DA300
printer driver from a computer. It
also briefly explains Envelope
DesignerTM Plus, the Pitney Bowes
envelope design software that
comes with the printer.

In this chapter:

Printer Software ...................... 4-2

Installing the Software ............. 4-2

Selecting Printer Properties ... 4-7

Using the Printer Properties

Windows .................................. 4-8

Selecting the DA300 from a

Windows Application ............ 4-17

Envelope DesignerTM Plus ..... 4-18

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Printer
Software

Installing
the
Software

Before you can use your printer with your computer, you
must install a printer driver. The driver gives your com­puter information about the printer you're using, and tells
the printer about the settings you want to use in your
print job.

Your printer works with the Pitney Bowes DA300 driver. If
you have not previously installed the printer driver on
your computer, do so now from the Envelope Designer™
Plus CD that comes with your printer.

NOTE: During the DA300 software installation, you have
a choice to install the Envelope Designer™ Plus software
in addition to the driver. We recommend you use the
Envelope Designer™ Plus software for printing ad­dresses on your envelopes (see page 4-18 for a descrip­tion). However, if you want to use a third-party envelope
design software instead, just ignore the Envelope De­signer™ Plus option during installation.

1. Insert the "Envelope Designer™ Plus" CD into the CD
drive of the PC. After several moments, the following
screen displays (this is an auto-start CD). Click No to
the question concerning the use of Envelope Designer
Plus with the DA900 printer.

TM

NOTE: If the CD does not auto-start (e.g., the auto­run feature is turned off on your PC), do the follow­ing. From the Start Menu, select Run, type:
x:\SETUP.EXE (where "X" is the letter of the CD
drive), and press [Enter].

4-2 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Installing
the
Software
(continued)

2. Click OK at the "ADDRESSRight Printing System"
screen. An "Installing" files window displays briefly.

3. Click on the "ADDRESSRight Printer Driver" selec­tion. If you will be using Envelope Designer™ Plus to
create your envelope designs, click the "Envelope
Designer Plus" selection also. Do not select either of
the DocuMatch choices, which are for another product.

Click OK when finished. An "Installing" files window
displays briefly

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-3

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Installing
the
Software
(continued)

4. Click OK to accept the default destination directory.

5. Click OK to accept the default folder name of Pitney
Bowes Printing.

4-4 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Installing
the
Software
(continued)

6. The "Pitney Bowes Envelope Printer Accelerator
Setup" windows displays. Read the window carefully
and click Next.

7. At the "3rd Party Envelope Printing Setup" screen,
you need to make a choice:

• If you will be using Envelope Designer™ Plus to
create and print envelopes, do
lope Printer Accelerator, since it is already built-in.
Click Cancel and skip to Step 9.

• If you will be using Envelope Designer™ Plus to
create envelope designs only and print from a third
party application like MS Word,
Printer Accelerator. Click Next to accept the target
printer ("e.g., Pitney Bowes DA300") that the "PB
Envelope Printer Accelerator" will replace when
printing the envelope.

not install the Enve-

install the Envelope

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-5

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Installing
the
Software
(continued)

8. Click OK at the "Successful Configuration" screen
that acknowledges the creation of a virtual printer (for
the accelerator).

9. An "Install" screen displays for creating a shortcut.
Click Ye s if you want to create a shortcut to Envelope
Designer™ Plus on the desktop for the customer.

10. An "ADDRESSRight Printing System Setup" screen
displays. Click OK. The PC will reboot. Don't forget
to remove the CD after rebooting and place in a safe
place for future use if needed.

4-6 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Selecting
Printer
Properties

This section describes printer properties and use of the
windows for selecting the available options. To access the
main properties window, follow these steps:

1. Click the "Start" button in the task bar, then select
"Settings".

2. Click "Printers". The Printer window displays.

3. Right click the Pitney Bowes icon, then left click the
Properties option.

The Properties window opens and displays seven tabs,
each of which allows access to different printer options.
Note that the General tab window displays when the
Properties window opens.

To access another option, left click on the appropriate tab.
A window for the selected option displays.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-7

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Selecting
Printer
Properties
(continued)

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window

NOTE: An explanation of items in each window is also
available by doing the following:

• Right click an item to display the "What's This" button.

• Right or left click this button to display the
information about the selected item.

Use of the window for each tabbed item follows, starting
with the General tab window.

General Tab

If the General tab window is not currently active, left click
the General tab.

Use the Location area to specify where the printer
resides. You can use alphanumeric characters to desig­nate the site. For example, if your printer is in building 27
in area C, you could use 27/C as the Location entry.

4-8 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Use the Comment area to make a statement about the
printer. For example, you might want to indicate what the
printer should be used for and when it is available.

If this printer is shared, the comment entered in this area
displays on the computers sharing this printer. NOTE:
Sharing is not supported for the DA300 printer driver.

Click "Printing Preferences" to change the printer's
default settings. Default options include document
orientation and paper source. Click "Advanced" in the
Printing Preferences window to access other settings
such as, print quality and paper size.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-9

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Properties Tab

To display the Sharing window, left click the Sharing tab
in the Properties window.

To configure the printer for private use, choose the "Not
Shared" option. Only the user logged onto the computer
will be able to use this printer.

The window shown here is a standard Windows driver
dialog, not developed by Pitney Bowes and not sup­ported by Pitney Bowes.

The settings in this tab should not be changed as Pitney
Bowes does not support networking of its envelope
printers.

4-10 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Ports Tab

To display the Port window, left click the Port tab in the
Properties window.

The displayed list shows the available ports, the associ­ated port monitor, and the printers that use the ports.

To add another port to the display list, click "Add Port".
Follow the subsequent prompts to identify and name the
new port(s).

To delete a port, select the desired port and then click
"Delete Port".

To set the transmission retry value, click "Configure
Port", enter the desired number of seconds, and then
click "OK".

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-11

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Advanced Tab

To display the Advanced window, left click the Ad­vanced tab in the Properties window.

To make the printer available 24/7, select the "Always
available" option.

To configure the printer for limited availability, select the
"Available from" option, and then enter the desired time
frame.

NOTE: If a document is sent to the printer while it is
unavailable, the document will be held (spooled) until the
printer is available.

Use the Priority area of this window to rank the status of
document to be printed. Settings range from 1 to 99,
with 1 indicating the highest priority.

4-12 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

The name of the installed driver displays in the "Driver"
area. This usually matches the name of the printer; how­ever, for the DA300, you will see "Pitney Bowes W660"
instead.

To install a new driver, click "New Driver" to launch the
Add Printer Driver Wizard. Follow the prompts to select
and install the desired printer driver.

To change the default document properties:

1. Click "Printing Defaults".

2. Select the default options for document orientation
and paper source.

3. Click "Advanced" to access other settings such as,
print quality and paper size.

4. Click "OK" to return to the Printer Properties window.

To change the default print processor and/or data type:

1. Click "Print Processor...".

2. Select from the options available.

3. Click "OK" to return to the Printer Properties window.

To insert a page between each printed document:

1. Click "Separator Page".

2. Click "Browse" to search for the file containing the
page you want to use as the Separator.

3. Click "OK" to return to the Printer Properties window.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-13

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Spooling and Printing Options

Spooling is the process of storing the document on the
hard disk and then sending it to the printer. Right click
each option and read the 'What's This?" topic for more
information.

Choose the spooling options that best suit your needs:

• To have the document printing in the back ground,
select the "Spool print documents so program fin­ishes printing faster" option.

• To ensure that the whole document is ready at the
same time for printing, select the "Start printing after
last page is spooled" option.

• To start printing as soon as the first page of a docu­ment is received by the printer, select the "Start
printing immediately" option.

To send the document directly to the printer and by pass
spooling, select the "Print directly to the printer" option.

To direct the printer to check that its setup matches the
document setup, select the "Hold mismatched docu­ments".

When the option, "Print spooled documents first", is
selected, the printer operates at maximum efficiency by
selecting to printer documents that have completed
spooling regardless of their designated priority.
To direct the printer to keep printed documents in the
queue, select the "Keep printed documents" option.

To make the printer's advance d features available, select
the "Enable advanced printing features" option.

4-14 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Security Tab

To display the Security window, left click the Security
tab in the Properties window.

Pitney Bowes does not support Networking. Therefore,
adding or removing permissions should not be used.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-15

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Using the
Printer
Properties
Window
(continued)

Device Settings Tab

To display the Device Settings window, left click the
Device Settings tab in the Properties window.

Pitney Bowes recommends that you leave the manufac­turer-set default as it is in this window and refer to your
envelope printing application to change envelope sizes.

4-16 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Using the DA300 With Your Computer • 4

Selecting the
DA300 Printer
From a
Windows
Application

The following steps explain how to select the DA300
printer from a Windows software application. The steps
are similar for most applications. You can also refer to
your application's documentation for specific instructions
on installing printer drivers and selecting printers.

1. Start the software application that you use when
printing envelopes with the DA300 printer and open
the file you want to use.

2. From the File menu, select Print. The Print dialog box
appears.

3. Click on the arrow in the printer Name box. When you
click on the arrow, a drop-down list box appears
containing the names of the available printers. The
illustration below shows a typical print dialog box with
the DA300.

4. Click "OK" to send the job to the printer.

Once you've made this selection, your print jobs will
automatically go to the DA300 printer when you select
File/Print. Remember to change the printer selection back
to your regular printer for your other printing jobs.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 4-17

4 • Using the DA300 With Your Computer

Envelope
Designer™
Plus

Pitney Bowes Envelope DesignerTM Plus is an easy-to­use program that helps you create professional-looking
envelope layouts quickly.

TM

With Envelope Designer

Plus, you can create and
position a mailing address, return address, single-line
message, barcode and graphics. The application has an
extensive online help system and a Wizard that guides
you through the entire design process.

Envelope Designer

TM

Plus virtually eliminates the need for
setting up your envelope manually, using either the print
driver options or the printer's control panel menu op­tions. NOTE: Settings created in Envelope Designer

TM

Plus will override the settings entered in Setup on the
control panel of the DA300.

To access Envelope DesignerTM Plus:

1. Click "Start" in the task bar.

2. Select Programs.

3. Select Pitney Bowes Printing, then left click Envelope

Designer™ Plus. The program displays a sample
envelope for you to customize.

4-18 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Chapter

5

Printer
Maintenance

This chapter describes the main­tenance procedures you should
perform on a regular basis to
keep your printer running trouble­free.

In this chapter:

Preventive Maintenance ......... 5-2

Cleaning .................................. 5-2

Print Quality Problems ............ 5-2

Exit Rollers .............................. 5-3

Sensor ..................................... 5-3

Floor Assembly /Top Cover ..... 5-3

5 • Printer Maintenance

Preventive
Maintenance

Cleaning

Print Quality
Problems

The Pitney Bowes DA300 Ink Jet Printer is designed for
trouble- free service with a minimal amount of care. You
should schedule regular cleaning of the Feed Rollers,
Right Hand Slider, Left Hand Slider and Lower Guide.

CAUTION: Clean print head, cartridge, ink
surfaces and covers with plain water only.
Clean all rubber rollers with plain water. Use of
any other cleaning solvents will void all warran­ties. Keep petroleum based cleaning solvents
away from rubber or plastic parts. Anything
but alcohol will cause premature breakdown of
the rubber compound.

The print head performs a self cleaning cycle periodically.
If print quality is unacceptable, try the following:

• Adjust the media thickness lever (page 3-13) to see if
print quality improves.

• Clean the print head cartridge: dampen a soft cotton
cloth with water and wipe the nozzles clean.

• Install a new ink cartridge (page 2-13).

• From the Setup Menu, select 3. Purge Printhead. The
purging process clears any clogged ink on the print
nozzle. Often this returns the print quality to a normal
level. See Appendix A, Control Panel Menus, for
information on using this feature.

5-2 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Printer Maintenance • 5

Exit Rollers

Sensor

If the right and left exit rollers are misaligned, that is,
contact printed surfaces, they can become contaminated
with ink. Use water to dampen a soft cloth and remove
the ink from the rollers.

A film and/or dust can build up on the sensors and cause
misfeeds of the material. Lift the back cover and use
compressed air to blow dust from the sensors. Cans of
compressed air are available from many computer
supply houses.

Sensor Location

Floor
Assembly

Periodically wipe the top cover and floor assembly (feed
deck) with a soft cotton cloth, dampened with water only.

and Top
Cover

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 5-3

5 • Printer Maintenance

5-4 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Chapter

6

Troubleshooting

This chapter lists some common
printer problems and offers sug­gestions on how to fix them.

In this chapter:

Problems and Solutions .......... 6-2

Feed Problems ........................ 6-2

Print Quality Problems ............ 6-3

Interface Problems ................. 6-4

Motor Problems ...................... 6-5

Barcode Problems .................. 6-5

Other Problems ....................... 6-6

6 • Troubleshooting

Problems and
Solutions

Feed
Problems

Before calling our Customer Support Center or your
Pitney Bowes Customer Service Representative, look for
your problem below. If you can solve the problem your­self, you will be able to resume printing sooner. Also, go
to our website at www.pitneybowes.com/support for
the latest up-to-date support information.

Problem Intermittent Feed

Reason: Material prop not used.
Solution: The material prop adds a gentle slope to

the stack and helps feeding. If you're using
the prop, check the H-Block gap for
proper separation. Also make sure the
wire frame is centered under the material.
(See pages 3-8 and 3-12.)

Reason: Dirty feed rollers.
Solution: Clean the feed roller with denatured

alcohol. DO NOT use any other solvents or
detergents. They could damage the feed
rollers.

Reason: Paper dust present (yellow or white

residue), blocking feed sensor.

Solution: Clean sensor with compressed air (see

page 5-3).

Problem Multifeed (Feeds Doubles) or Skewing

Reason: Separators (H-blocks) not set correctly.

Also feed fence set incorrectly.

Solution: Adjust H-blocks to thickness of material

(see page 3-6). Check feed fence position
(see page 3-10.

6-2 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Troubleshooting • 6

Print Quality
Problems

Problem No Print

Reason: Ink cartridge problem.
Solution: Purge ink cartridge. Clean cartridge with

soft cotton cloth and water. Change to a
new cartridge.

Problem Gray or Light Print

Reason: Ink supply is low.
Solution: Check adjustment of the media thickness

lever (page 3-13). If this fails to correct the
problem, replace ink cartridge (pages 2-13,
2-14).

Problem Address Smudging

Reason: Incorrect media thickness lever setting.

Also, ink may not dry on very high gloss
material.

Solution: Check whether media thickness lever is

adjusted too low (page 3-13). Try using
less glossy material.

Problem Address Printing is not Sharp

Reason: Incorrect media thickness lever setting.

Also, unsuitable material.

Solution: Check whether envelope thickness lever is

adjusted too high (page 3-13). Print quality
is less sharp when using Tyvek, recycled
or glossy media.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 6-3

6 • Troubleshooting

Print Quality
Problems
(continued)

Problem Unwanted Bolding

Reason: Escape sequence turning on bold or bold

selection in printer's menu options is set to
bold.

Solution: Turn off bolding in software and/or turn

bold selection in printer menu OFF. See
Appendix A for instructions. If problem still
exists, call Pitney Bowes for service.

Problem Addresses "Walking"

Reason: Incorrect Address Setup.
Solution: Count carriage returns and line feeds and

adjust Lines Per Address to the same
number.

Reason: Address Termination should be Form Feed.
Solution: Set Address Setup for 8 lines. Check Line

Termination: CR=CR, LF=LF.

Interface
Problems

6-4 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Problem No Communications, Printer Does Not

Respond

Reason: Incorrect print driver, bad parallel cable,

bad printer controller board.

Solution: Use DA300 print driver; replace parallel

cable. Make sure cable connections are
tight. If the problem still persists, call
Pitney Bowes for service.

Troubleshooting • 6

Motor
Problems

Barcode
Problems

Problem Motor Turning but no Feed Roller Movement

Reason: Mechanical problem.
Solution: Call Pitney Bowes for Service.

Problem Barcode (Lower Right) is not Printing

Reason: Barcode not enabled
Solution: Turn barcode ON using Envelope Designer™,

or the DA300 print driver or the printer’s
control panel menus.

Reason: Missing ZIP Code.
Solution: Insert ZIP Code.

Reason: Invalid ZIP Code format.
Solution: Check ZIP Code for invalid character.

Example: Zero (0) can only be the number,
not the letter (O). Verify that there is a dash
inserted between the 5 + 4 ZIP Code per
the USPS Domestic Mail Manual (DMM).

Reason: Address too low.
Solution: Verify the bottom of the last line of the

address field is not less than 5/8" from
bottom edge of the media

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 6-5

6 • Troubleshooting

Barcode
Problems
(continued)

Other
Problems

Problem Address too High

Reason: Address field is within .100" of the top

edge of the media.

Solution: Move address field down to the USPS

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) specifications.

Problem Barcode Fails MERLIN Standards at USPS

Reason: Mail does not meet barcode, address

placement, or other acceptance tests of
MERLIN (Mail Evaluation Readability
Look-up Instrument) at USPS.

Solution: For more info on MERLIN, go to PB.com.

Select Support, click on Search the
Support Knowledge base, then search the
database for MERLIN.

Problem Paper Out or Paper Jam

Reason: Input area is empty.
Solution: Refill the input area.

Reason: H-Block separators not adjusted correctly.
Solution: Adjust the H-Blocks to the thickness of

the material you're running (see page 3-6).

Reason: Paper jam obstructing paper path.
Solution: Clear obstructed path.

Reason: Dirty paper feed sensor.
Solution: Clean sensor with compressed air (see

page 5-3).

6-6 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Troubleshooting • 6

Other
Problems
(continued)

Problem Shuttle Jam

Reason: Envelope thickness lever is set too low for

material.

Solution: Open the back of the printer, and adjust

the media thickness lever (see page 3-13).

Reason: Lower rail shaft dirty.
Solution: Wipe lower rail shaft clean.

Problem Memory Card Error

Reason: The card was removed while the printer

was reading it.

Solution: Do not remove the card while the printer is

in use. If the card has been removed, insert
the card, turn the printer off, then turn the
printer on again.

Problem Out of Memory

Reason: The printer can run out of memory when

downloading fonts or graphics.

Solution: This generally means you’re trying to use a

graphic (artwork) that’s too big or you
have too many fonts or too large a font
size. If the out-of-memory message
appears, try reducing the size of your art
and limiting the number and size of your
fonts. Then shut the printer OFF, then ON
and retry.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide 6-7

6 • Troubleshooting

6-8 DA300 Printer Operator Guide

Appendix

A

Using the
Control Panel
Menus

The control panel menus can be
used to control how your printed
material looks. This chapter
describes each menu and its
options.

In this Appendix:

Using the Control Panel ..........A-2

Using the Menus ..................... A-3

Main Menu ............................... A-5

Setup Menu ........................... A-17

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the
Control Panel

Use the buttons on the control panel to get to the
printer menus, define the print options, run a print job,
position the print carriage and turn the printer on line and
off line.
If you’ve installed the DA300 printer driver on your
computer, you’ll normally perform these actions from
within the application you’re using to set up your enve­lope layout.

The buttons on the control panel perform the following
functions:

This Button... Does This...

On Line Toggles (switches) between ON LINE

(communicates with host) and OFF
LINE (no communications with host).
Note that the functions of two buttons,
Eject/- and Cartridge/+, vary, depend
ing on whether the printer is ONLINE
or OFFLINE.

Eject/- When printer is offline, press to eject
(minus) the last printed piece from the printer.

When printer is online, press to scroll
through menu items from bottom to
top.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-2

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the
Control Panel
(continued)

Menu Displays the options on the Main

Menu and the Setup Menu. The
printer must be OFF LINE to access
the menus.

Enter Press to select the currently displayed

menu option.

Cartridge/+ With the printer OFFLINE, press
(plus) to move the ink cartridge holder to

the center of the printer. This makes it
easy to remove the cartridge.
With the printer ONLINE, press to
scroll forward through the menu
options.

Test Env. When in OFFLINE, prints a test

address on an envelope based on the
characteristics selected at the time of
print. This is very useful when you set
up a print job. When in ONLINE
mode, this key is disabled.

Using the

The DA300 has two menus, both displayed on the LCD:

Menus

•The Main Menu controls how your printed material
looks.

•The Setup Menu is used to configure your printer
so it will function correctly with your computer.

NOTE: The printer must be OFFLINE in order to ac­cess the menu options.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-3

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the
Menus
(continued)

To select an option:

1. Press the On Line button until the LCD message
displays “OFF LINE”.

2. To access the MAIN MENU, press the Menu but­ton.

3. To access the SETUP MENU, press and hold the
Menu button for four (4) seconds.

4. Press the plus (+) or minus (–) buttons to move
through the list of menu options.

5. When the appropriate menu option appears, press
the Enter button to display the choices associated
with that option.

6. Press + or – to scroll through the choices. When an
option has an asterisk (*) in front of it, it means that
option is presently selected.

Upon receipt of the printer from the factory, the
asterisk is typically the default setting.

When you press the Enter button to define a new
option, an asterisk will appear before the selected
option.

7. Press the Menu button several times to back out of
the Menu until the printer displays OFF LINE. Then
press the On Line button to print.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-4

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the Main
Menu

The Main Menu options are:

1. Address Layout

2. Print Quality

3. Font

4. Barcode

5. Address Recovery

6. Clear Counter

7. Job Settings

IMPORTANT: The settings you define in a software
application such as SmartMailer™ or Envelope De­signer™ Plus override the corresponding settings you
choose in the printer menus.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-5

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the Main
Menu
(continued)

Main Menu Menu Options

1. ADDRESS LAYOUT

2. PRINT QUALITY

3. FONT

4. BARCODE

A. DISTANCE TO RIGHT
B. DISTANCE TO BO TTOM
C. LINE SPACING
D. ORIENTATION
E. ORIENTATION CONTROL

DRAFT
EXECUTIVE
LETTER

A. NAME
B. SIZE
C. WIDTH
D. BOLD
E. ITALIC
F. OUTLINE

A. LOCATION
B. 5 DIGIT ON/OFF
C. 9 DIGIT ON/OFF

5. ADDRESS RECOVERY

6. CLEAR COUNTER

7. JOB SETTINGS

A. GET ADDRESS
B. CLEAR MEMORY

CLEAR ADDRESS (YES/NO)
PIECE COUNTERS

A. LOAD
B. SAVE

NOTE: An asterisk (*) displays next to the chosen setting
when you scroll through the menu options

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-6

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

1. Address Layout

Use the Address Layout option to set up the way an
address appears on the printed material. The printable
width is limited to 9.4” from the right side of the mail
piece. The printable height is 13.5” measured from the
bottom edge of the mail piece.

Define the following options from this menu:

A. Distance to Right (Left Margin)

This option sets the start of the address (the left side of
the address) as measured from the right side of the
envelope. For # 10 envelopes this should be about 5.5”.
Press the + or – buttons to increase or decrease the
Distance to Right, (+ MORE or – LESS) defined in inches
or millimeters. The left margin is the distance measured
from the right edge of the material to the first printable
character. Press the Enter button to select the desired
measurement.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-7

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

1. Address Layout
(continued)

B. Distance to Bottom (Bottom Margin)

Use this option to set the distance from the top address
line to the bottom of the envelope. For #10 envelopes
this should be about two inches.

Press the + or – buttons to increase or decrease the
Distance to Bottom, (+ MORE or – LESS) defined in
inches or millimeters. The bottom margin is the distance
between the bottom edge of the material and first line of
the address. Minimum distance between the last line of
the address and the bottom edge of the material is 5/8
inches. If less than 5/8 inches, the lower right barcode
will not be printed. Press the Enter button to enable the
desired measurement.

C. Line Spacing

Press the + or – buttons to increase or decrease the
Line Spacing (i.e., 3, 4, 6, 8 lines/inch or Automatic),
defined in lines per inch. Automatic line pitch selection is
based on industry-standard definitions for line spacing
for each print pitch and style selected. The printer will
automatically select the correct setting for the font and
size of the characters being printed.

D. Orientation

The choices are Normal and Inverted. Select Normal for
most applications. This tells the printer that the bottom
edge of the material feeds first, with the right side run­ning against the right side of the printer. The Inverted
option tells the printer that the top edge of the material
feeds first. Select this option if, for example, you need
to feed envelopes flap first.

E. Orientation Control

The choices are Automatic and Manual. For Automatic,
the software determines the orientation control of your
addresses. For Manual, the settings in the Control Menu
determines the orientation control of your addresses.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-8

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

1. Address Layout
(continued)

To use the Address Layout option:

1. Press the On Line button until the display reads
OFF LINE.

2. Press the Menu button to display the Main Menu.

3. Press the + or - buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until 1. ADDRESS LAYOUT appears
on the LCD panel.

4. Press the Enter button to select this option.

5. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
ADDRESS LAYOUT options.

6. Press the Enter button to select the desired option
(A, B, C, D or E).

7. Press the + or - buttons to scroll through the
choices associated with each option.

8. When you’ve finished making selections, press the
menu button several times to back out of the menu
until the printer displays OFF LINE. Then press the
On Line button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-9

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

2. Print Quality

Use the print quality option to select the resolution of
the printed addresses—Executive, Letter or Draft.

A. Executive Quality (600x300 DPI)

This is the darkest of the three print qualities. It prints at
the slowest speed, uses the most ink and delivers the
best quality printout. Executive quality prints envelopes
that require a professional appearance.

B. Letter Quality (300x300 DPI)

Letter quality is used for envelopes that require a fin­ished, polished appearance.

C. Draft Quality

This is the lightest of the three and prints at the fastest
speed. Draft quality prints envelopes at the highest
speed and saves ink.

To use the Print Quality option:

1. Press the On Line button until the display reads OFF
LINE.

2. Press the Menu button to display the Main Menu.

(200x300 DPI)

3. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until 2. PRINT QUALITY appears on
the LCD panel.

4. Press the Enter button to select the option you want.

5. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Print
Quality options, until the desired option (Executive,
Letter or Draft) is displayed on the LCD panel.

6. Press the Enter button to select the desired option.

7. After you’ve made your selection, press the Menu
button several times to back out of the Menu until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On
Line button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-10

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

3. Font Selection

The DA300 has five available fonts (typefaces): Courier,
Sans Serif , Roman, OCR-A, and OCR-B. Each one has
point sizes from 4 to 30 pt and can be printed in regu­lar, bold, italic, and outline style. The DA300 also
supports downloaded fonts. This means that if you are
using Windows, all the fonts installed in Windows are
available. This also applies to any DOS applications
that can download fonts.

The options on this menu are Name, Size, Width, Bold,
Italic, and Outline.

A. Name

The printer has five internal fonts: Courier, Sans Serif ,
Roman, OCR-A, and OCR-B

B. Size

The font size can range from 4 pt to 30 pt.

C. Width

The font width is Normal (100%), thin (75%), con­densed (50%), wide (125%) or expanded (150%).

D. Bold

This is the darkest imprint because character stroke
weight (thickness of print) is increased. Use Bold to
emphasize or highlight text in an address.

E. Italic

Italic characters have decreased stroke weight, print at
an oblique angle and print somewhat lighter than
standard or bold typefaces. Use italic to provide
emphasis and add flair to address text that requires a
finished, polished appearance.

F. Outline

The Outline font option creates an outline for each
letter, for a slightly 3-D or hollow effect for special
purpose use.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-11

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

3. Font Selection
(continued)

4. Barcode

To select the font options:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until 3. FONT displays on the LCD
panel.

2. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Font
options until the desired option appears on the LCD
panel.

3. Press the Enter button to select the desired option
(A, B, C, D, E, or F ).

4. Press the + or - buttons to scroll through the
choices associated with each option.

5. Press the Enter button to select the desired option.

6. After you’ve made your selections, press the Menu
button several times to back out of the Menu until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On
Line button to enable the printer.

Use this option to include a USPS-certified barcode on
your mailpieces. The DA300 can print a 5- or 11-digit
barcode. If you select Off, it means that if the computer
sends a 5-digit ZIP Code, it won’t print a barcode; only
the 9-digit ZIP Codes and Delivery Points will print.

The options on the barcode menu are Location, 5-Digit
On/Off, and 9-Digit On/Off

A. Location

Press the Enter and + buttons to select the Location
where you want the barcode to print. (Lower Right
Corner, Above Address, Below Address or turn Barcode
Off).

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-12

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

4. Barcode
(continued)

B. 5-Digit On / Off

If a 5-digit barcode is required, selecting the 5-digit
barcode option (5-Digit ON) lets you print both 5-digit
and 11-digit barcodes.

C. 9-Digit On / Off

If a 9-digit barcode is required, selecting the 9-digit
barcode option (9-Digit ON) lets you print 9-digit
barcodes. NOTE: If 9-Digit is ON, 11- or 5-Digit
barcodes will not be printed.

To use the Barcode option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until 4. BARCODE is displayed on the
LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
Barcode options (Location, 5 -Digit, or 9-Digit) until
the desired option appears on the LCD panel.

4. Press the Enter button to select an option.

5. Press the Enter button at the 5-Digit or 9-Digit
barcode prompt and use + or – to turn the option
ON or OFF.

OR

Press the Enter button at the Location prompt and
use + or – to select the option (Lower Right Corner,
Above Address, Below Address or Off).

6. When you finish making your selections, press the
Menu button several times to back out of the menu
until the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the
On Line button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-13

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

5. Address
Recovery

Use this option to direct the printer’s memory to go
back a certain number of addresses when an error
occurs in order to reprint the address. The options on
this menu are: A. Get Addresses and, B. Clear Memory.

A. Get Addresses

Select Get Addresses after a jam is cleared and you
want to restart printing at the point where the printer left
off just before the jam occurred. To retrieve any address
in the data buffer, press the Enter button. The first 16
characters of the first line of the address will be dis­played on the LCD. Press the + or – buttons to scroll
through the addresses. When the desired address
appears, press the Enter button to print that address
plus the remaining addresses in the buffer.

B. Clear Memory

Clear Memory should be selected before you start a
new batch printing. This is required since the memory
will contain some addresses from the previous batch.

To use this menu option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until 5. ADDRESS RECOVERY dis­plays on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Ad­dress Recovery options until the desired option (A.
Get Address or B. Clear Memory) is displayed on the
LCD panel.

4. Press the Enter button to select the desired option.

5. Press the + button to clear addresses, or – button to
keep addresses.

6. After you’ve made your selection, press the Menu
button several times to back out of the Menu, until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On
Line button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-14

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

6. Clear Counter

7. Job Settings

Use this option to clear the piece (batch) counter.

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until the 6. CLEAR PIECE
COUNTER option is displayed on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press the + or – button to select CLEAR PIECE
COUNTER, (+ YES or – NO).

4. After you’ve made your selection, press the Menu
button several times to back out of the Menu, until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On
Line button to enable the printer.

The DA300 Printer can hold eight job presets in
memory. This eliminates the need for changes to the
printer setup when you change print jobs. The options
on this menu are A. LOAD and B. SAVE.

A. Load

Select this option to retrieve a previous job setup.
Press + (for more) or – (for less) to increase or de­crease the desired job number. Press the Enter button
to select the desired number (1 - 8).

B. Save

Use this option to save the current envelope setup
(address position, barcode position, number of lines
per inch, and so on). The printer saves the setup as a
job number (1 - 8). You must keep a record of these
setups and the number you assigned. Press + (MORE)
or – (LESS) to increase or decrease the desired job
number. Press the Enter button to select the desired
option.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-15

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

7. Job Settings
(continued)

To use this option to direct the printer to Load or Save
the Job Setting as a certain number:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Main
Menu options until the 7. JOB SETTINGS option
appears on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press the + or – buttons to select A. Load or B.
Save.

4. Press the Enter button to select the desired option.

5. After you’ve made your selection, press the Menu
button several times to back out of the Menu, until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On
Line button to enable the printer.

NOTE: If your printer is attached to a computer, use this
menu to configure your printer so it is compatible with
your computer’s setup.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-16

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the
Setup Menu

To access the Setup Menu, the printer must be OFF
LINE. (The LCD display toggles between ON LINE and
OFF LINE). If the printer is ON LINE, press the On Line
button once so the LCD displays OFF LINE. Then,
press and hold the Menu button for four seconds to
display the Setup Menu.

The Setup Menu options are:

1. Heavy Media Mode

2. Test Print Head

3. Purge Print Head

4. Lines Per Address

5. Hex Dump Mode

6. Communications

7. Language

8. Envelope Feed Delay

9. Envelope Auto Eject

10. ROM Revision

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-17

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

Using the
Setup Menu
(continued)

Setup Menu Menu Options

1. HEAVY MEDIA MODE

2. TEST PRINT HEAD

3. PURGE PRINT HEAD

4. LINES PER ADDRESS

5. COMMUNICATIONS

6. HEX DUMP MODE

7. LANGUAGE

8. ENVELOPE FEED DELAY

A. SYMBOL SET
B. INCH/MILLIMETER
C. MENU LANGUAGE

9. ENVELOPE AUTO EJECT

10. ROM REVISION # AND
MAINTENANCE COUNT

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-18

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

1. Heavy Media
Mode

2. Test Print Head

The only time you need to turn this mode on is when
you are using long, heavy envelopes. This option
increases motor torque. This option is normally OFF.

To use this option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
Setup Menu options until the 1. HEAVY MEDIA
LOAD appears on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press the + or – buttons to select ON or OFF.

4. Press the Enter button to select the desired option.

5. After you have made your selection, press the
Menu button several times to back out of the
Menu, until the printer displays OFF LINE. Then,
press the On Line button to enable the printer.

Before you select this option, make sure that the
material is loaded in the printer input area so you can
print a test pattern.

To use this option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
Setup Menu options until the 2. TEST PRINT HEAD
option appears on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.
The LCD will display “Print test pattern?”

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-19

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

2. Test Print Head
(continued)

3. Purge Print
Head

3. Press + for Yes to print the test pattern, or press –
for No to cancel.

If you press +, “Please wait...Test pattern is printing”
displays. The printer prints a diagonal line across the
material. If a gap is present within the diagonal line,
the nozzle may be blocked and need to be cleaned.

4. Press the Menu button to back out of the menu until
the printer displays OFF LINE. Then press the On
Line Button to enable the printer.

The purging process clears any clogged ink on the print
nozzle. Often this will return the print quality to a normal
level.

To select this option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Setup
Menu options until 3. PURGE TEST HEAD appears
on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. To select Purge Print Head cycle, press Enter when
the “Purge Print Head?” message displays.

This option can be enabled by pressing the + button
(YES) or disabled by pressing the – button (NO). If
enabled, the printer will display “Please wait...Ink
Jets being purged”.

4. Press the Menu button to back out of the menu until
the printer displays “OFF LINE”. Then press the On
Line Button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-20

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

4. Lines Per
Address

5. Communications

Use this option to set the number of lines in the ad­dress field.

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
Setup Menu options until 4. LINES PER ADDRESS
appears on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. The LCD displays “LINES/ADDRESS + (MORE) or –
(LESS)”.
The range can be from 1 to 66 lines. The range can
be adjusted by pressing the + button (MORE) or –
button (LESS). The printer can print an address
which is typically between 3 and 8 lines.

4. Press the Menu button to back out of the menu
until the printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the
On Line Button to enable the printer.

Transmitting data from the computer to the DA300 is
by way of the parallel interface or the serial interface.
The printer automatically senses the interface through
which data is being sent. When the computer uses the
printer’s parallel interface, no communication settings
are required.

When the serial interface is used, the DA300 Commu­nications menu settings must be configured to match
the computer settings. Configure the computer to use
either the XON/XOFF or DTR handshaking settings to
communicate with the DA300.

The DA300 serial communications menu settings
include:

A. Baud Rate

Baud Rate choices are (1200), (2400), (4800), (9600)
and (19200).

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-21

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

5. Communications
(continued)

B. Parity

Parity determines the integrity of data that is sent. The
choices are (ODD), (EVEN) and (NONE).

C. Word Length

The choices are (7 DATA BITS) and (8 DATA BITS).

D. Line Termination

Typical software line termination is CR=CR;LF=LF. If your
software is not typical, the line termination can be
modified.

The menu choices are:
(CR=CR;LF=LF)
(CR=CR+LF;LF=LF)
(CR=CR;LF=CR+LF)
(CR=CR+LF;LF=CR+LF)

To set the Communications menu option:

1. Press the On Line button until the display reads OFF
LINE.

2. Press the Menu button for four seconds to display
the Setup Menu.

3. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the Setup
Menu options until the 5. COMMUNICATIONS ap­pears on the LCD panel.

4. Press the Enter button to select the options you
want. Continue to press menu, the + and - buttons
and enter to scroll to and select the options’ next
levels.

5. Press the Menu button to back out of the menu until
the printer displays “OFF LINE”.

6. Press the On Line button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-22

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

6. Hex Dump Mode The information provided here is for those of our
customers who are technically inclined.

The Hex Dump Mode option causes the printer to print
all commands and data it receives from the computer
in a hexadecimal format. Use this feature to check the
integrity of your data. When you enable this option,
instead of addresses printing, a HEX dump of the data
stream prints on the material. The printer must be
attached to a computer in order to use this option.

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the

Setup Menu options until 6. HEX DUMP MODE
appears on the LCD panel.

2. Press the + or – buttons to select this option which

configures the printer to print raw ASCII data.
This is very useful when troubleshooting computer
(software) installation problems. See the HEX chart
on the next page for review.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-23

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

6. Hex Dump Mode
(continued)

LSB

MSB

DEC

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

0 16 3248648096112
0 1 234567

HEX

0

NUL

DLE

SP

0

@

P

1

SOH

DC1

2

STX

DC2

3

ETX

DC3

4

EOT

DC4

5

ENQ

NAK

6

ACK

SYN

7

BEL

ETB

8

BS

CAN

9

NT

EM

A

LF

SUB

B

VT

ESC

C

FF

D

CR

GS

E

SO

RS

F

SI

US

FS

!

1

A

Q

"

2

B

R

#

3

C

S

$

4

D

T

%

5

E

U

&

6

F

V

′

7

G

W

(

8

H

X

)

9

I

Y

*

:

J

Z

+

;

K

[

,

<

L

\

–

=

M

]

•

>

N

^

/

?

O

_

`

p

a

q

b

r

c

s

d

t

e

u

f

v

g

w

h

x

i

y

j

z

k

{

l

|

m

}

n

-

DEL

o

EXAMPLE:

The capital letter A is a HEX41. Find the letter A on the
above chart, and look towards the top of the chart
(MSB) and locate the HEX number 4. Then look to the
left side of the chart (LSB) and locate the HEX number 1.
Therefore the HEX number is MSB=4 and LSB 1= 41.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-24

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

6. Hex Dump

Mode (continued)

This chart can be easily understood by memorizing
five HEX codes: Capital A is 41 Hex, numbers are 30’s
(0 is 30 HEX, 1 is 31 HEX etc.), Carriage Return (CR) is
OD, Line Feed (LF) is OA and Form Feed is 0C.

When HEX Mode is disabled, a typical address will be
printed on a single envelope. When Hex Mode is
enabled, the same address will be printed on several
envelopes (3 to 5) because HEX codes are two digits
each separated by brackets. Since a capital letter A is
a Hex [41], there are 4 elements printed for each
character of the address.

When reviewing addresses printed in HEX mode, start
from the end of the address (ZIP Code 30’s number)
and count backward toward the beginning of the
address. Count the number of CRs [OD] and LFs [0A].
Verify that the printer’s address setup has the same
number of CRs and LFs as the address printed. If
there is a variation in the number of CRs or LFs be­tween addresses, then the address MUST be termi­nated with a (form feed) FF [0C].

When you’re finished using this option, use the Menu
button to back out of the menu until the printer dis­plays OFF LINE. Then press the On Line button and
send addresses to the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-25

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

7. Language The DA300 has several language sets installed. The
options on the language menu are: A. Symbol Set, B.
Inch / Millimeter, C. Menu Language.

A. Symbol Set

The symbol set contains the International Standards
Organization (ISO) character set substitution tables.
They include the following:

ISO 6 ANSI ASCII
ISO 69 FRENCH
ISO 21 GERMAN
ISO 4 UK
ISO 60 NORW/DAN
ISO 11 SWED/FIN
ISO 15 ITALIAN
ISO 17 SPANISH
ISO 61 NORW/DAN
ISO 10 SWED/FIN
ISO 16 PORTUGUESE
ISO 8859

Roman 8
WINDOWS LATIN 1
PC 8

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-26

Appendix A • Control Panel Menus

7. Language
(continued)

B. Inch / Millimeter

This option selects the printer Measurement system—
Inch or Millimeter.

C. Menu Language

This option changes the LCD control panel menu to
the language you want. Supported languages are
English, French, Italian, Polish, German, Spanish, and
Dutch.

To use this option:

1. Press the + or – buttons to scroll through the
Setup Menu options until 7. LANGUAGE appears
on the LCD panel.

2. Press the Enter button to select this option.

3. Press Enter to select the Language option you
want to use—A, B or C.

4. Press the + button or – button to view the menu
languages available. Press Enter to select an
option.

5. When you’ve finished making selections, press the
Menu button to back out of the menu until the
printer displays OFF LINE. Then, press the On Line
Button to enable the printer.

DA300 Printer Operator Guide A-27